


Patience is a Virtue

by shamrockivy



Series: Fruits of the Spirit [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Courtship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2012-12-27
Packaged: 2017-11-22 15:52:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/611547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shamrockivy/pseuds/shamrockivy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If patience is a virtue, then Bones is a goddamned saint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patience is a Virtue

**Author's Note:**

> Here are a few rules of traditional courtship to give those who don't know a background (and it varies from place to place and family to family of course).
> 
> 1\. No sex with each other before marriage  
> 2\. No inappropriate touching period (around 100-150 years ago even hand-holding was risque)  
> 3\. The suitor must ask his sweetheart's father (or other older family member if father is deceased) for permission to court  
> 4\. The chaperone (usually a member of the sweetheart's family or an older family friend) is in charge of making sure the suitor and his sweetheart are never alone together, and do not touch inappropriately  
> 5\. Courtship lasts between 6-12 months (mirrors the time frame of most engagements)  
> 6\. At the end of the courtship, if the sweetheart accepts the suit, marriage takes place
> 
> There are more details and variables of course, but those are the backbone of a Southern courtship.  
> 

Sometimes being patient was a _damn_ difficult thing.  
  


And Bones was not a person well renowned for his patience.  

 

He’d been a good little Southern boy and followed all the rules to the letter, just like his gran would have wanted.

 

The decision to court Jim hadn’t been made on a whim, but was something that he’d pondered over with some of his best bourbon for several weeks.

 

Jim had grown up, quicker than even he could have imagined. Oh he was still a brat that shot his mouth off when he should’ve just kept it shut more often than not, but when on duty he did his damnedest to maintain the attitude and character required of a Starfleet captain. Being out in the black for two years had done more to center Jim than the twenty five he’d spent on Earth.

 

Without a doubt, Jim also put his crew at the top of his priorities. It was his driving goal, to keep his crew safe, and it was also the reason for almost all his trips to sickbay. He was dedicated to the care and comfort of his crew, often throwing Starfleet’s rulebook out the proverbial window at times in pursuit of that.

 

The factor that had finally made him decide to go after and court Jim though was the most surprising one. Due to the natural inclination of humankind to gossip, it became a well known fact throughout the Enterprise that the captain hadn’t seen any ‘action’ for over a year.

 

Now being a stickler on the ‘no fraternizing with lower officers’ clause, Jim didn’t have much to choose from in the way of partners anyway. And with how hard their last three missions had been, two involving diplomats that he thinks not even his gran could come up with something nice to say about them, it really shouldn’t have been that surprising to discover that part of Jim’s character having been put aside.

 

Not that he believed Jim couldn’t be monogamous, just that the kid hadn’t ever shown any inclination to ever do so. Oh the gossip mill that was the academy did blow his escapades a bit out of proportion, but they weren’t _that_ far off from the mark either.

 

It didn’t help matters in debating over entering a courtship with Jim that the ex certainly hadn’t refrained from extra dalliances on the side of their marriage.

 

When it came down to it, he was a washed out, worn down country doctor who didn’t want his whole world snatched out from under him again by having his heart ripped into pieces by the young man he’d been, _dammit_ , in love with for nearly five years.

 

And so with that latest revelation he’d finally stepped up and decided to court Jim before he did something foolhardy like hit on an alien priestess or take a vow of chastity.

 

He’d started with the most basic step, which of course due to involving Jim’s family, ended up being the most difficult.

 

After failing to do so on his own, he’d had to ask Uhura for help in getting a vid conference set up with Winona Kirk. Uhura had been beside herself to assist once she’d forced him to explain why he needed such a favor, claiming it was just like the romances of the eighteenth century novels she was fond of reading.

 

The vid meeting went as well as it could for dealing with Winona Kirk. She hadn’t completely abandoned her son, but then again she hadn’t really been there for him either, happy to look the other way and not have to face the living ghost of the man she’d lost.

 

Once he’d asked her for her permission to court Jim, a few minutes of awkward silence passed.

 

Fixing her gaze on his face, she’d asked him just one question.

 

“Do you love him, really love him?”

 

He’d kept his eyes locked on hers, eyes a lighter blue than Jim’s that spoke of how much she’d lost and how much she’d left.

 

“I do ma’am. I’d die for him, I’d live for him, hell I’m up here in goddamn space where anyone on this ship could die from the simplest little wire malfunction, all because I don’t trust anyone else with the job of looking after your son and making sure his body and mind stay in one piece.”

 

She’d torn her gaze away after that, the burning in his eyes relieving her and shaming her in equal parts.

 

“Then of course I give you my permission. I wanted…I tried to…I _do_ love him, it was just so…hard. I wish…” she trailed off, eyes cast off to the side as her thoughts turned inward.

 

When her eyes were once again turned his way, he left his parting remark, one his gran had used all her life.

 

“If wishes were horses ma’am, then beggars would ride.”

 

Once he’d gotten permission, he began his courting in earnest. Bypassing the usual courting gifts of flowers or jewelry, with the former Jim was severely allergic to half of and the latter Jim didn’t really appreciate nor could wear on duty, he went instead for adjusting his behaviors to suit Jim’s needs.

 

The hypos he used to always take vindictive enjoyment in stabbing Jim’s neck with were now used in a much gentler manner, with him often quickly caressing his thumb over the point of injection before applying the hypo to the skin.

 

The first few times Jim had given him a puzzled look that couldn’t be described as anything but cute.

 

“You feeling alright Bones?”

 

He’d grumped out the usual sarcastic reply and Jim had shrugged and appeared to drop the matter.

 

When Jim came into sickbay with the usual injuries from away missions gone horribly wrong, he actually restrained himself from verbally reaming out the captain, unless he’d acquired the injuries due to his own stupidity and not in defense of his crew. Then he made sure to state how Jim was going to kill him from heart failure until Jim looked properly contrite and chastised.

 

He was privately relieved that with this change to his bedside manner, Jim did tend to be take better care of himself while planetside, at least for a week or two.

 

After particularly grueling hours in sickbay where he was doing surgery on Jim instead of just a quick patch up job and swearing a blue streak both in his head and out loud just to keep from screaming, he eased up on Jim during his recoup time.

 

Where before he would send Jim out to the mess with strict instructions to not eat any of the greasy, artery-clogging food that he usually ingested as a punishment for putting him through the ordeal of having Jim under the scalpel _again_ , he instead sent for that same greasy food, usually a cheeseburger and fries, to be delivered to sickbay for Jim to eat where he could keep an eye, or two, on him.

 

There was something to be said for watching Jim eat, especially when he’d finish up by licking and sucking on those fingers with that delectable mouth.

 

He’d learned to sit behind his desk while that was going on to ensure that Jim didn’t catch a peek at how much he truly appreciated those lips and that mouth being on display.

 

The times where Jim came into his office and proceeded to talk his ears off used to end with him being thrown out before five minutes had passed and told not to come back unless he was bleeding all over the floor.

 

Now he just let Jim prattle on, the sound oddly soothing in its essence, proof that Jim was alive and well and _not_ bleeding all over his sickbay.

 

His patience was well rewarded too, with Jim seeking him out more and more often to discuss the more serious issues of being a starship captain, from conflicts between crewmembers to the struggles of raising efficiency ratings.

 

There were also the times when Jim would come to him, silent and withdrawn, during one of his bouts of self-doubt and non-existent self esteem. Those were the times he knew that he was making progress in winning Jim over.

But the most effective step in the courting process had been his changing the tone of his endearments. Oh he’d always used them before, usually loaded with dry sarcasm that hid the true emotion behind them.

 

Instead of covering up the emotion, he began to let it slip in, going out of his way to make his voice as thick and sweet as his family’s secret molasses recipe. He also didn’t think it would hurt to allow a bit more of his drawl out.

 

It had caused an immediate reaction.

 

The first time he’d done it, Jim had _blushed_ ; pink flush spreading across tanned skin before stuttering out an excuse of needing to be somewhere else. The second time Jim had tripped over air and couldn’t make eye contact with anyone for five minutes afterwards.

 

He’d had to admit to himself that seeing Jim hot and bothered over just a bit of sweet talk was a _damn_ fine sight.

 

So he’d gone out of his way to take every opportunity to make Jim squirm, blush, and act like a girl mooning over her high school sweetheart.

 

He considered it payback for all the times he had to watch Jim bend over while wearing those goddamn ‘fleet pants that were so tight over his ass there didn’t need to be any room for imagination.

 

His sexed up endearments weren’t just for show though. They had also become his strongest means of comforting Jim.

 

Jim had the uncanny knack of taking all the odds stacked against him and make them do a one eighty. But on one of the Enterprise’s most recent missions, not even the captain who had outmaneuvered the batshit crazy Nero could instantly teleport them to Theta VII to stop a homicidal maniac from killing half the children in the colony.

 

The world often gave James T. Kirk the short end of the stick and this time had been no different. Starfleet had sat on their asses and bickered like school children for long enough after the distress call from Theta VII came in that Jim and the Enterprise had arrived in time to save only half of the children that the paranoid bastard had taken hostage.

 

 Admiral Pike had been madder than a wet hen at the higher ups who’d received the original message, but that didn’t ease any of the guilt that Jim had felt over the disaster.

 

Once the situation had been as resolved as it was going to get, Jim had made his way into his office to seek comfort in the only way he’d allow.

 

Three Romulan ales later had Jim shitfaced enough to break down, head tucked in against his CMO’s shoulder with hysterical laughs turning into heartrending sobs and curses.

 

He’d curled his arms around his best friend and very faintly rocked him back and forth; crooning assurances to the man he loved more than life itself. 

 

“Hush darlin’, there’s nothing else you could’ve done. You did your best and that’s all anyone asked for.”

 

“But—“

 

“No, none of that butting darlin’. You’re not to blame for what happened down there. Starfleet was as slow as molasses in January and they’re the ones whose heads this is on. Sometimes life gives you lemons and you’ve just gotta eat the goddamned things.”

 

 Jim had chuckled weakly at that last part, before indulging in another Romulan ale and then getting sent back to his quarters for a much needed rest.

 

Before leaving his office though, Jim had placed a kiss on his lips, as chaste and sweet as buttermilk with a softly murmured ‘thanks Bones’ gracing the air.

 

It had been the first true positive sign that his suit was being accepted, and Jim had been so smashed he hadn’t remembered a damn thing once morning rolled around.

 

So he’d gotten permission, offered his suit, and changed his behavior to show his intended that he was serious about his suit while still keeping his grumpy, cynical, and sarcastic self mainly the same.

 

 All that’s left was Jim’s response.

 

That, of course, was where the ‘being patient’ was biting him in the ass.

 

Even with the whole ‘smart-ass and pain in the ass’ thing Jim had going on, his so called genius intellect hadn’t connected the dots that he was being courted.

 

Hell, nearly the entire crew of the Enterprise knew that the captain was being courted by his resident CMO. Sulu and Chekov both thought it was adorable. Jim had made an offhand comment about wondering what was so humorous about him during bridge shifts that had his helmsman and navigator sneaking looks back behind and snickering to themselves.

 

He was pretty sure that between Uhura, Chapel, and Rand his suit for Jim’s hand was the only topic of conversation at their romance book club meetings.

 

And if he’d overheard correctly, there was a betting pool being run on when Jim would figure it out and when he’d accept his suit.

 

The green blooded hobgoblin was even in the know. He’d come to him to offer his services as chaperone after Uhura had explained what was going on, since Jim had no family on board and the half Vulcan was a trusted friend, older than Jim himself.

 

His excuse for doing so was that after having researched the ‘fascinating’ human ritual of courtship,  it was only ‘logical’ he act as chaperone since ‘as first officer he spent much time in the captain’s presence and could easily oversee any meetings between the captain and his CMO, along with ensuring his captain’s courtship was handled properly.’

 

 He couldn’t help but hate the fact that the pointy eared bastard was right.

 

Though Jim’s obliviousness was an annoyingly large obstacle, he felt there was still hope.

 

True to his word, the Vulcan had been frustratingly damn fine at his chaperone duties. There were no more chances at a quick pat to Jim’s shoulder, a discreet caress down his arm, or even the far off hope of a stolen chaste kiss or two.

 

The first time Spock had intervened from allowing him contact with Jim had been a simply habitual move to throw an arm around Jim’s shoulder after having just left the bi-annual poker night of which Sulu and Chekov were hosts.

 

Spock had only stepped between him and Jim with a raised eyebrow and a simple ‘doctor’ sent his way, but looking at Jim’s face you’d have thought the half Vulcan had sprouted wings and started clucking.

 

“Uh Spock, are you feeling alright?”

 

The eyebrow had lowered, but the spine stiffened to epic proportions.

 

“I am in optimal health Captain.”

 

Jim had shot a doubtful look in Spock’s direction, but let the matter drop. That is, until the next few times Spock had stopped any physical contact from happening. A few more inquiries from Jim had been made to find out exactly why his first officer was present any time he was near Jim, but they were all easily sidestepped by the hobgoblin.

 

His mama and gran had raised him better than to eavesdrop, but when Jim had stopped by sickbay a week after Spock’s ‘odd’ behavior started to ask Uhura, who’d been in for a routine physical, some questions, he couldn’t help but perk up his ears while in his office.

 

“Uhura, you haven’t noticed Spock being um…more territorial I guess? I mean of you or his science department or anything else right?”

 

Her reply had been a no filled with puzzlement which he’d bet a whole bottle of bourbon was phony.

 

She’d asked Jim why he’d brought it up and kept on pushing until he finally caved.

 

“Well I think he might be feeling a bit…well not jealous exactly, but maybe um kinda upset over my friendship with Bones. He just ends up always being right there whenever Bones and I plan to do something and he’s always got this intense look of concentration on his face, like he’s afraid of missing something, when he’s just standing there.”

 

He wondered how hard it was for Uhura to have kept a straight face after having heard that.

 

 Jim rambled on a bit about how he considered Spock a close friend and that his opinion meant a great deal to him and that he wasn’t sure what had brought on Spock’s new ‘stalk Jim to make sure he doesn’t self combust’ phase, but that he thought it might be Spock’s way of showing friendship.

 

Uhura had laughed at that and her reply was an assurance and hint wrapped into one.

 

“I’m sure that Spock’s just trying his best to be a friend to you anyway he can.”

 

That of course had left Jim more confused than he’d been, but it did get him to ignore Spock’s chaperoning.

 

Another month dragged by and he was beginning to wonder if this whole ‘patience is a virtue’ shit was worth it.

 

Trust Jim to have brought him the reminder that tempting fate is never a good thing.

 

One nightmarish accident on an away mission later, Jim was fighting for his life in a seven hour surgery while sustaining a partially crushed skull, shattered left femur, heavy internal bleeding, and several damaged organs.

 

His hands don’t stop shaking for an hour after finishing up in surgery. No diplomacy gone wrong, no plotting third party, just an unsteady portion of rock that fell to fast and heavy for Jim to have dodged, that was what had put Jim’s life in jeopardy.

 

He got Jim stable enough to be placed in a medically induced coma and wondered if he’d ever have a chance to see those gorgeous blue eyes that are so full of mischief again.

 

Two weeks later after endless hours of wordless prayer, constant visits from concerned crew, and agonizing waiting, Jim is taken off the life support systems, his body having healed enough to function without them, though still unconscious.

 

Spock pointedly ignored the numerous touches he gave Jim, from manually monitoring his pulse to holding his hand for hours on end. He figured even emotionally constipated half Vulcans knew when to tell tradition to take a hike.

 

Jim showed signs of waking four days after being taken off life support and woke up two hours after that, his hair being stroked and his hand being held by his CMO.

 

Seeing those brilliant blue eyes, even a bit dulled by the pain meds, was truly a sight for his own sore eyes and caused a lump to form in the back of his throat.

 

He pressed the ‘com button to let Uhura know to inform the senior staff that their captain was awake and to meet in sickbay at once, but wasn’t able to tear his eyes away from the blue ones staring at him.

 

His voice was rough with equal parts worry and relief, but he didn’t want to wait and have the world screw him over again.

 

“Hey you, I should wait ‘til you’re one hundred percent off the pain meds, but I don’t think I want to wait that long. I’ve been courtin’ your sorry ass for the past eight months and you don’t get off medical leave until you say yes to my suit, you insufferable idiot.”

 

And then he’d cupped the brat’s cheek in his hand and kissed him, gentle but insistently, and felt his heart swell when those chapped lips under his opened up and returned the kiss back, shy and sweet and perfect.

 

Jim’s expression melted from shock into a faint teasing smile.

 

“But Bones isn’t it against the rules to coerce the person being courted?”

 

As if Jim had any great love for rules.

 

“Whoever set up those rules didn’t know Jim Kirk. It’s been hell havin’ to keep my hands to myself.”

 

Jim brought his hand up to brush over the stubble on his CMO’s face that had grown into half a beard in the five days that he hadn’t bothered to shave while holding vigil over Jim’s unconscious form, a small smirk working its way onto his face.

 

“Consider it payback for all those darlins’ I suffered through. Do you know how many times I ended up having to rush back to quarters to jerk off? That voice of yours should be illegal. ‘Sides, I wouldn’t have minded being manhandled by you. Aren’t doctors supposed to be awesome with their hands?”

 

He’d applied a hypo in the same manner as the last eight months, his fingers lingering this time a bit longer on Jim’s neck before replying.

 

“I wanted to do the right thing by you, since you’re worth it.”

 

That slightly grumbled out admission had Jim going a bit misty-eyed.

 

He warned Jim that he wasn’t a man who went around doing things half-assed and that he was taking this courting all the way and going to make an honest man out of Jim Kirk.

 

Of course, that had Jim grinning and asking where his ring was then.

 

If he hadn’t been so worried about if Jim would make it, the entire ordeal would have been worth it for the look on his face when he pulled out a ring from his pocket, something he’d put there three days after Jim went into the coma; acting as some type of good luck charm against anything that would try to take Jim away.

 

Calling in the ship’s senior officers that consisted of Spock, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty, Jim’s family, to act as witnesses, he took Jim’s hand in his, kneeling down and told everyone to listen up since he was only going to say this goddamned sappy shit once.

 

“James Tiberius Kirk, you drive me absolutely batshit crazy, can’t stay out of trouble to save your life, and will without a doubt be the cause of my hair going gray before forty. Still, I love you more than life itself and want to spend the rest of my days with you, whether that’s fifty years from now or only until tomorrow. Will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

 

Jim’s pupils had widened in shock and his eyes darted over to the crew before focusing back on him.

 

“This is real right?”

 

The hand held within his squeezed as if to make sure he was real, trembling slightly to match the hesitancy in the owner’s voice.

 

Locking eyes with those sparkling blue ones, he let his voice fill up with all the love he felt for this annoying, amazing man.

 

“Yes darlin’, it is.”

 

It wasn’t seconds after Jim’s awkward, but sincere yes that the room was filled with loud cheering and whistling that he put up with for almost a minute before letting his cantankerous nature come back from vacation and chase them all out.

 

The few tears, sniffles, and soft but needy kisses that came from Jim afterwards were for his eyes only anyway.

 

The softly whispered ‘love you too Bones’ took the cake though.

 

It took a few days after for Jim to realize the big kicker though.

 

“Bones, this means Spock’s got to marry us.”

 

A truly devious smile spread across his face once Jim blurted out that little nugget of knowledge.

 

“He sure is, and I’m gonna enjoy every minute of the hobgoblin’s torture.”

 

**2 weeks later**  
 

For those who knew the Vulcan, Spock did look a bit disturbed trying to avoid having to watch his doctor use his tongue to enthusiastically examine his captain’s tonsils.

 

The rest of the crew seemed to enjoy the show.

 

They finished up their first kiss as husbands and started to make their way over to the cake before Jim pulled him up short.

 

“Can’t we just skip the cake and go straight to the honeymoon?”

 

Jim’s pout was adorable, but he’d spent a great deal of time making himself immune to it.

 

Tugging Jim a bit closer to himself, he bent in close to whisper in his ear.

 

“Be just a little more patient darlin’. After all, any cake you get on you, I’ll have to lick off later, just the two of us.”

 

He’d never seen Jim move faster than he did making a beeline for that cake, being dragged along the whole way.

 

Being patient was a _damn_ difficult thing, but it had given him Jim Kirk, which was more than enough for him.  
  



End file.
